| Egyptian Blogger on Military Trial to be Freed |
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By Associated Press The tribunal agreed suspend proceedings in return for the apology. This means the case is not written off, and could be revived. "If he doesn't apologize, the case can be revived," Mahmoud said. International human rights groups criticized the trial saying the government is trying to silence a civilian for daring to criticize the army. Egypt has arrested a string of prominent bloggers in the past who criticized security repression or were accused of insulting Islam and the president. But military tribunals are normally reserved for those the government perceives as a threat to its existence, such as terror suspects or members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The engineering student was detained on Feb. 25 and charged with publishing false news and "tarnishing the military's image" after blogging about a student forced to leave the academy to make room for a candidate from a wealthier family. Criticizing the armed forces is illegal in Egypt and considered a threat to state security. The lawyer said the academy investigated Mostafa's claims, which it said were "incomplete." |
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